Adjustable mouthpieces for brass wind instruments



Aug.v 14, 1956 w. J. sARAD 2,758,497

ADJUSTABLE MOUTHPIECES FOR BRASS WIND INSTRUMENTS Filed Dec. 25, 1954 IN V EN TOR.

Walter J. Sarad ATTORNEY United States Patent ADJUSTABLE MOUTHPIE'CES FOR BRASS WIND INSTRUMENTS Walter J. Sarad, Lakewood, Colo. Application December 23-, 1954, Serial No. 477,290 1 Claim. (Cl. 84-399) This invention relates to an adjustable mouthpiece for brass musical instruments of the type in which the musical tone is produced by vibration of the players lips, such as trumpets, trombones and the like. With such instruments, it is preferred to have a large, deep-cupped mouthpiece to produce a full round tone in the lower register, and to have a comparatively shallow-cupped mouthpiece to produce clear, perfect tones in the upper registers.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a mouthpiece which can be quickly, easily and accurately adjusted by the musician to provide any desired depth of cup to suit the requirements of the particular musicians lips and the requirements of the musical score being interpreted by the musician.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the adjustable mouthpiece that it will indicate externally to the musician the depth to which it has been set so that it can be quickly and easily preset to any desired depth in accordance with a definite indicating scale.

It is also advisable in training pupils with instruments of this type to develop the strength and control of the lip muscles. These muscles can be better exercised and trained by use of a deeper mouthpiece, thereby requiring the various scale positions to be produced muscularly. However, the use of these deeper mouthpieces for actual playing would result in tiring of the mouth muscles.

A further object of this invention is to provide a mouthpiece which can be preset in a deep position for practice and exercise purposes, and can then be quickly and easily reset in a shallower and more efiicient position for actual concert work.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy and efficiency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout the description.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the improved wind instrument mouthpiece, illustrating the latter set in its most shallow position;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, illustrating the mouthpiece preset in its deepest cup position;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the mouthpiece, taken on the line 3-3, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail view, illustrating the shank portion of the improved mouthpiece;

Fig. 5 is a detail side view of a sealing member employed in the improved mouthpiece;

Fig. 6 is a side view, partially in section, illustrating a lip sleeve employed upon the mouthpiece; and

Fig. 7 is an end view of the improved mouthpiece, looking toward the inner extremity thereof.

The improved mouthpiece comprises a tubular instrument-fitting shank 10 joined by a tubular concave portion 11 to a cylindrical cup portion 12. A tubular lip sleeve 13 is adapted to fit snugly over the cup portion 12 so that it may move both circumferentially and axially thereon.

The cylindrical cup portion is provided with an indented spiral groove 14 in its external cylindrical surface designed to receive the inner extremity of a cam pin 15 which is forced through the tubular wall of the sleeve 13 so as to be fixedly secured to the latter and so as to project inwardly from the interior surface thereof.

The sleeve 13 is hermetically sealed to the cup portion 12 by means of an annular O-ring 16 formed from rubber, neoprene, or similar resilient compressible material. The O-ring 16 is compressed into an internal annular groove 17 formed within the sleeve 13 so as to seal the latter to the surface of the cup portion 12.

The forward extremity of the cup portion 12 is provided with a semi-spherical, indented cup depression 18 from which a conical sound channel 19 leads to the open rear extremity of the portion 10. The forward extremity of the sleeve 13 is provided with an annular protuberance 20, the forward annular surface of which is rounded, both internally and externally. The depression or cup 18 covers the full diameter of the cup portion 12 so that the inner wall of the sleeve will form an uninterrupted continuation of the depression.

It can be seen that if the sleeve 13 be rotated in a counter-clockwise direction from the position of Fig. 1, it will cause the pin 15 to travel along the spiral incline of the groove 14 to force the sleeve 13 forwardly toward the position of Fig. 2. As the sleeve moves forwardly its internal diameter will form a continuation of the cup depression 18 to increase the effective depth of the latter.

The cup portion 12 is provided with an indented indicating line 21 with which indented markings of a plurality of index markings 22, formed on the sleeve 13, can be brought into alignment.

It has been found that it is possible to designate twelve different cup depths to provide twelve distinguishable tonal colors. Therefore, it is preferred to place twelve of the index markings 22 on the sleeve, designated by numerals from 0 to 12, as indicated at 23.

To provide mellow, deep tones, sleeve is rotated toward the index 12. To provide sharp, brilliant, high notes the sleeve is rotated toward the 0 indication.

It is, of course, essential that there be no air leakage between the sleeve 13 and the cup portion 12. In the improved mouthpiece, air leakage is prevented by the resilient O-ring 16, which has a normal diameter slightly less than the external diameter of the portion 12, and which has an external diameter slightly in excess of the peripheral diameter of the ring groove 17, so that when the O-ring is in place it will frictionally engage both the surface of the portion 12 and the bottom of the ring groove to prevent leakage of air therebetween and to act to frictionally retain the sleeve 13 in any desired preset position.

Should a musician find that a certain position on the scale markings 22 is most satisfactory for certain uses, he wiil mentally note the scale marking of that position. He can then quickly turn the sleeve 13 to the position indicated, with full assurance that the mouthpiece will be accurately positioned in the desired position.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claim, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

An adjustable mouthpiece for brass wind instruments comprising a tubular shank portion adapted to fit the air inlet opening of a brass wind instrument, said shank portion being provided with an enlarged cylindrical portion at the exterior end thereof, said enlarged portion being formed with a shallow cupped portioncommunicating with the bore of said shank portion; and means for rapid- 1y increasing the size of said cup portion according to the register of the musical tones to be produced by the vibration of the players lips, said adjusting means comprising a sleeve rotatably and longitudinally adjustable on said enlarged cylindrical portion, said sleeve being provided with a pin projecting radially inwardly from the inner cylindrical surface thereof, said enlarged cylindrical portion having a steep spiral groove into which said pin extends, whereby a single partial turn of said sleeve may provide adjustment of said cup from the most shallow to the deepest adjustment; and a ring of resilient compressible material seated in a groove in the interior of said sleeve, said ring adapted to provide an air seal and also frictional engagement between the sleeve and shank, whereby the sleeve is securely retained in its rotary and longitudinal adjustment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 242,487 Thomsen June 7, 1881 445,849 Chevers Feb. 3, 1891 2,521,127 Price Sept. 5, 1950 

